Ozzy Osbourne's 1981 solo debut Blizzard of Ozz was a masterpiece of neo-classical metal that, along with Van Halen's first album, became a cornerstone of '80s metal guitar. Upon its release, there was considerable doubt that Ozzy could become a viable solo attraction. Blizzard of Ozz demonstrated not only his ear for melody, but also an unfailing instinct for assembling top-notch backing bands. Onetime Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoads was a startling discovery, arriving here as a unique, fully formed talent. Rhoads was just as responsible as Osbourne -- perhaps even more so -- for the album's musical direction, and his application of classical-guitar techniques and scales rewrote the rulebook just as radically as Eddie Van Halen had. Rhoads could hold his own as a flashy soloist, but his detailed, ambitious compositions and arrangements revealed his true depth, as well as creating a sense of doomy, sinister elegance built on Ritchie Blackmore's minor-key innovations. All of this may seem to downplay the importance of Ozzy himself, which shouldn't be the case at all. The music is a thoroughly convincing match for his lyrical obsession with the dark side (which was never an embrace, as many conservative watchdogs assumed); so, despite its collaborative nature, it's unequivocally stamped with Ozzy's personality. What's more, the band is far more versatile and subtle than Sabbath, freeing Ozzy from his habit of singing in unison with the guitar (and proving that he had an excellent grasp of how to frame his limited voice). Nothing short of revelatory, Blizzard of Ozz deservedly made Ozzy a star, and it set new standards for musical virtuosity in the realm of heavy metal.

Green Day's American IdiotReview by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

It's a bit tempting to peg Green Day's sprawling, ambitious, brilliant seventh album, American Idiot, as their version of a Who album, the next logical step forward from the Kinks-inspired popcraft of their underrated 2000 effort, Warning, but things aren't quite that simple. American Idiot is an unapologetic, unabashed rock opera, a form that Pete Townshend pioneered with Tommy, but Green Day doesn't use that for a blueprint as much as they use the Who's mini-opera "A Quick One, While He's Away," whose whirlwind succession of 90-second songs isn't only emulated on two song suites here, but provides the template for the larger 13-song cycle. But the Who are only one of many inspirations on this audacious, immensely entertaining album. The story of St. Jimmy has an arc similar to Hüsker Dü's landmark punk-opera Zen Arcade, while the music has grandiose flourishes straight out of both Queen and Rocky Horror Picture Show (the '50s pastiche "Rock and Roll Girlfriend" is punk rock Meat Loaf), all tied together with a nervy urgency and a political passion reminiscent of the Clash, or all the anti-Reagan American hardcore bands of the '80s. These are just the clearest touchstones for American Idiot, but reducing the album to its influences gives the inaccurate impression that this is no more than a patchwork quilt of familiar sounds, when it's an idiosyncratic, visionary work in its own right. First of all, part of Green Day's appeal is how they have personalized the sounds of the past, making time-honored guitar rock traditions seem fresh, even vital. With their first albums, they styled themselves after first-generation punk they were too young to hear firsthand, and as their career progressed, the group not only synthesized these influences into something distinctive, but chief songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong turned into a muscular, versatile songwriter in his own right.

Warning illustrated their growing musical acumen quite impressively, but here, the music isn't only tougher, it's fluid and, better still, it fuels the anger, disillusionment, heartbreak, frustration, and scathing wit at the core of American Idiot. And one of the truly startling things about American Idiot is how the increased musicality of the band is matched by Armstrong's incisive, cutting lyrics, which effectively convey the paranoia and fear of living in American in days after 9/11, but also veer into moving, intimate small-scale character sketches. There's a lot to absorb here, and cynics might dismiss it after one listen as a bit of a mess when it's really a rich, multi-faceted work, one that is bracing upon the first spin and grows in stature and becomes more addictive with each repeated play. Like all great concept albums, American Idiot works on several different levels. It can be taken as a collection of great songs -- songs that are as visceral or as poignant as Green Day at their best, songs that resonate outside of the larger canvas of the story, as the fiery anti-Dubya title anthem proves -- but these songs have a different, more lasting impact when taken as a whole. While its breakneck, freewheeling musicality has many inspirations, there really aren't many records like American Idiot (bizarrely enough, the Fiery Furnaces' Blueberry Boat is one of the closest, at least on a sonic level, largely because both groups draw deeply from the kaleidoscopic "A Quick One"). In its musical muscle and sweeping, politically charged narrative, it's something of a masterpiece, and one of the few -- if not the only -- records of 2004 to convey what it feels like to live in the strange, bewildering America of the early 2000s.

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Oh God! This from the guy who tells me Incubus and Thrice are overrated. Yet simple crap from a band with a below-average singer constitutes "a good album". Get real. I vote for neither of these albums. The Green Day one blew and Ozzy blows even more.

Oh God! This from the guy who tells me Incubus and Thrice are overrated. Yet simple crap from a band with a below-average singer constitutes "a good album". Get real. I vote for neither of these albums. The Green Day one blew and Ozzy blows even more.

Here's 1 vote for the mute button.

See, the problem with you is that you decide what is good and bad based only on your judgment.

There are many music critiques that agree with me, and the ones that hate are usually the music elitist who can't stand anything that's too mainstream.

Another Blown Save wrote:See, the problem with you is that you decide what is good and bad based only on your judgment.

No. I decide what's good and what's bad based on what I hear with my ears and what I can play with my hands. Green Day produces what may be the most simple, plain sound of any band that garners constant national attention. Even bands like The Used or Yellowcard, bands who I don't really like, at least have some sort of musical redeaming qualities. Green Day, though, constantly spits out three chord garbage and gets praise for it.

There are many music critiques that agree with me, and the ones that hate are usually the music elitist who can't stand anything that's too mainstream.

Didn't you learn from my Rolling Stone quote that most music critiques don't really give an album a full-listen-through? Rolling Stone, the supposed creme-de-la-creme magazine of the Rock and Roll industry, can't even sit down and listen (comprehend, read lyrics) before they spit out a negative review of bands. Look no further than their review of Thrice's Vheissu, because that review is exactly what I'm talking about.

And it's not that I can't stand anything that's mainstream -- weren't you criticizing me for liking AFI and Incubus' old stuff? -- it's that a lot of the mainstream stuff is crap; U2's new stuff and Green Day's new stuff are no exception.

Another Blown Save wrote:See, the problem with you is that you decide what is good and bad based only on your judgment.

No. I decide what's good and what's bad based on what I hear with my ears and what I can play with my hands. Green Day produces what may be the most simple, plain sound of any band that garners constant national attention. Even bands like The Used or Yellowcard, bands who I don't really like, at least have some sort of musical redeaming qualities. Green Day, though, constantly spits out three chord garbage and gets praise for it.

The Beatles made some of most simple music that even a person is one guitar/bass/drum lessons can play some of their songs.Just because a band makes simple music doesn't mean they are bad and vise versa.That's why we don't praise Mahavishnu Orchestra as the greatest band.

Deciding "what's good and what's bad based on what I hear with my ears" is judging using solely your own judgment.I personally don't enjoy most of Jimi Hendrix's music. Does that mean that they are bad? No. It's just means that I don't like them.

Didn't you learn from my Rolling Stone quote that most music critiques don't really give an album a full-listen-through? Rolling Stone, the supposed creme-de-la-creme magazine of the Rock and Roll industry, can't even sit down and listen (comprehend, read lyrics) before they spit out a negative review of bands. Look no further than their review of Thrice's Vheissu, because that review is exactly what I'm talking about.

And it's not that I can't stand anything that's mainstream -- weren't you criticizing me for liking AFI and Incubus' old stuff? -- it's that a lot of the mainstream stuff is crap; U2's new stuff and Green Day's new stuff are no exception.

I understand that there are bad reviews and critics out there. That's why you have to read multiple reviews from multiple people with different PoV.

Again, I think I said before that I never judge an album by just one review. Same goes for American Idiot. Many reviews that I've read had positive things to say about the album, and I personally gave it a listen and thought that it was a well produced album.

And the comment about not liking mainstream music wasn't directed at you so don't worry about that.